Landing light or flare for attaching to aircraft



April 12,1927. 1,624,411

H. s. HOLT LANDING LIGHT on FLARE Fon A rmcnms 'ro -Amcliai'r med Feb. 14. 1924 2 Shah-She 1 12 927 H. E. s. HOLT LANDING LIGHT OR FLARE FOR ATTACHING TO A IRCRAFT med Feb. 14, 1924 2 sum -sum 2 HAROLD EDWARD SHERVTIN HOLT, OF FARNBOBOUGH,.ENGLAND.

LANDING LIGHT OR FLARE FOR ATTACHING- T0 AIRCRAFT.

Application filed February 14, 192 Serial No. 6%,902', and in Great Britain February 20, 1923.

This invention relates to landing lights or flares for attaching to aircraft, known as Holt landing lights, and is an improvement in or modification of an invention for which Letters Patent No. 1,423,326 have been granted.

In the specification of the prior patent referred to a shade or reflector was claimed consisting of hinged parts or halves which when not in use were adapted to fold or close to form around the flare body a casing or housing of stream-line shape and to open automatically when the flare was ignited.

Now the present invention has for its object to provide improved means for effecting the automatic opening of the shade when the flare is ignited. also to provide a simplified form of shade and other improvements in constructional details which will hereinafter appear.

According to this invention a hinged or pivoted release member is employed to re lease the shade and is arranged to project into the path of the gases given off from the flare upon ignition and to be actuated thereby. The shade is constructed of a single plate or hinged member mounted on the lower end of a depending arm or support on theflare bracket and so arranged that when the flare is burning the plate or shade is so disposed that it intercept-s or shades those light rays emitted from the flare which would otherwise have a dazzling effeet on the pilot and interfere with his observation of the ground below. a

When the flare is inoperative the shade is preferably held by suitable means in such a position that it projects across the lower end of the flare just below the burning composition or flare proper. so as not to ofler resistance to the air when turning or manoeuvring, but as soon as ignition is effected the shade is moved downwards about its hinge or pivot into the operative position by a spring.

Means whereby the flare is held inoperative or other mechanism associated therewith is actuated to bring about the change in the position of the shade, by the action of the pivotal release member hereinbefore referred to which consists of a pivoted arm or trip lever arranged to be impinged upon by the gases given ofl on the ignition of the quick match employed for igniting the flare, the pivoted arm or trip lever is also applicable for opening a two part shade of the kind described in the patent specification N0.

1,423,326 in which case the said arm actuates a fastening by which the shade halves are held closed thus bringing about the release of the shade which is then opened by a suitable arrangement of springs.

The flare bodies are composed of a suitable burning composition enclosed in an incombustible metal case, there being preferably at least two flare bodies to each flare, which are ignited electrically by independent electric ignition circuits, so that no switches are required on the flares themin the drawings the shade consists of arsuitably shaped plate a which is hinged'at b to the lower end of a tubular support 0 0n the flare bracket 0?. and connected by a suitably guided flexible cable 6 with the lower end of a long tension spring 7 housed in the tubular support 0 and attached at its upper end to a pin in the support.

The trip lever a. has a plate a on its outer end which. in the closed position of the shade, isheld just'below the lower end of the flare body Z in the path of the combustion gases which impinge upon the plate a and actuate the trip lever a when. the flare is ignited. A headed depending rod a on the plate a passes loosely through an aperture in the shade a and connects the plate a, with the shade so that the plate a follows the opening movement of the shade and is held thereby out of the way during the burning of the flare.

The shade is held in the closed position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 against the action of the spring 7 by a pair of toggle links g. g the opposite end pivots of which are connected with the supporting arm and with an extension on the shade at k, k as.

shown. A stop i Fig. 2 limits the movement of the joint k of the links in onedirection whilst the trip lever a engages the toggle near the pivot or joint is and when actuated by the gases from the flare displaces the pivot 1 0 so far out of line with the end pivots that the toggle links 9, 9 can told as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 permitting the shade to be pulled open by the spring into the position indicated by broken lines in Fig. 1. lhe shade can be readily moved back into the closed position by hand and will be held in that position by the return ot'the toggle levers to the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

In applying the, invention to a shade having two hinged parts a, a as shown in Fig. 3, the two parts of the shade are held closed, against the action of suitable springs f which tend to open them, by a rod or slide bolt m mounted to slide in guides 11. on one hinged part of the shade and engaging with its lower end ina link 0 on the lower end of the otherhinged part. of the shade. The lower end of the rodor-bolt m is suitably ehaped'to prevent accidental disengagement of the link and the upper end or the rod is connected with the pivoted'releasing plate a at a short distance from the pivotal point of support of said plate, the plate being inside the shade and the rod outside but being connected with a lug on the plate which projects through a .small aperture in the shade.

. In the closed position of the shade the pivoted releasing .plate is horizontal and projects transversely across theinterior of the closed shade, but as soon'as the Hare is ignited the plateis forced downwardsby the action of the combustion gases andthus pulls up and releases the fastening belt of the shade.

A I claim:-

1. A landing light or flare for air-craft, comprising a depending bracket for holding the burning composition or fiareproper, a depending arm on the bracket, a pivoted shade supported by, said armnear the lower end of the flare, a spring tending to pull the shade into the operative and substantially vertical position, means arranged to hold the shade normally out of action and in a substantially horizontal position so that it projects below the lower end 011? the flare, and means operated by the gases given off by the flare upon ignition to release the shade-holding means and permit theshade to be swung into operative position by.the spring.

2. A landing light or flare for aircraft, comprising a depending bracket holding the burning composition or flare proper, a dctiending arm on the bracket supporting a pivoted shade nearthe lower end of the flare, a spring tending to pull the shade into the open position, a pair of toggle levers arranged to hold the shade in a raised position near the lower end of the flare, and means operated by the gases given off by the Hare upon. ignition to displace the centre pivot of the toggles out of the holding position and permit the shade to be swung open by the spring.

3. A landing light or flare forair-craft, comprising a depending bracket holding the burning composition or flare proper, a depending arm on the bracket supporting a pivoted shade near the lower end of the flare, a spring tending to pull the shade into the operative position, a pair of toggle. levers arranged to hold theshade in a raised position near the lower end ofthe flare, and means operated by the gases given of]? by the flare upon ignition to displace the center pivot of the toggles out of the holding position. and permit the shade to be swung open by the spring, said meanscomprising a hinged lever one.end of which is arranged to projectinto the path of the said gases.

In testimony whereof he has atiixed his signature.

HAROLD EDWARD SHERWIN HOLT. 

